Sunday, September 16, 2012

Book Review: Secret of the Wolf by Cynthia Garner

Secret of the Wolf(Warrior of the Rift #2)By Cynthia GarnerSynopsis:

Once a generation, the rift between the paranormal world and the human world opens, allowing supernatural entities to cross. Vampire, demon, or shapeshifter, they can save the world-or send it spiraling into chaos.As a werewolf liaison to the Council of Preternaturals, Tori Joseph is used to straddling the world between humans and immortals. She plays by the rules and always delivers justice, no matter the cost. But after a string of increasingly brutal attacks results in humans turning into werewolves, Tori doesn't reveal her horrifying suspicion: Someone very close to her might be responsible.Investigating the paranormal violence, no-nonsense detective Dante MacMillan believes Tori is hiding something. His search for the truth draws him into greater danger as he gets closer to the dark realm of the immortals-and to the sexy werewolf who stirs his primal lust. Now with evil closing in around them, Dante must convince Tori to trust him . . . before her deadly secret destroys them both.

Let me begin by saying this is the second book in the series (the first is “Kiss of the Vampire”) and I did not read the first book. I do not believe this works as a “stand alone” book. However, the author does a great job in providing the reader with a recap of the story at the beginning and even throughout the book to further provide details, so I never felt “lost” about the main story plot. Talk about a unique, new twist to the origins of vampires, werewolves and other paranormal creatures! Beings from a different world, cast out, sent to Earth where in order to survive they must possess a human’s body. Some of the traditional aspects of these paranormal creatures still remain: both Vamps and Wares can “transform” humans into their species as legends already state (bites).

The genre is Paranormal Romance; however there wasn’t much “paranormal” or “romance” throughout the story. Yes, the paranormal aspect comes into play at the beginning and in the end, as well as some of the characters, but it reads more like a mystery (whodunit?) for most of the book. Then there’s the lack of “romance”. I found Dante extremely charming and yes, I would have a crush on the guy if I knew him! The chemistry between Dante and Tori is there. They both flirt with each other (longing stares, a brush of his fingers here, her teasing him with caresses there) but as with any romance, there has to be obstacles for them, right? Here’s where I had the most issues with this book; the obstacles were, well, lame. I caught myself constantly yelling at Dante “Really? Come on!!! You’re going to use your sister as an excuse?” or “Oh now you’re saying it won’t work because she’s Pret. SERIOUSLY?” Side note, my hubby did give me a few glances of “WTF”, but then again, he’s one to talk as he’s literally LOL as he’s reading J.R. Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood Series (currently on book 6 “Lover Enshrined”). Back to Dante and Tori: So he fights their attraction and commits to being strictly friends. Yeah, the man breaks his own rule all the time. Usually, there’s an event (an attack, having the other person leave, near death experience, etc.), something that makes the hero (or sometimes the heroine) realize that the excuses no longer outweigh the reality of what is right in front of them, the possibility of being happy and loving someone and having them love you in return. Unfortunately, there is no such event in this book. He just changes his mind and when he does, Tori doesn’t question it at all. I would have at least asked “so what made you change your mind. You were so adamant before….” Then again, if he’s really as “hot” as everyone says he is, I may not have asked him immediately, but definitely later on, afterwards, I would have asked. So now that you’ve been waiting this entire time for them to finally get together, especially after Dante teases Tori (and us, the readers) by telling her “When I have you stretched out under me, I’m gonna take my time.” Shivers right? Imagine my disappointment when they do get together and well, it didn’t live up to the expectation (or what he said!)

Earlier I stated that this read more like a mystery than a romance. We don’t have to work too hard to figure out ‘whodunit’. Family relationships cloud Tori’s judgment and though she is originally portrayed a strong female, her actions and reactions all lead in the opposite direction. Gosh, I hate when that happens!!

And I’m not even going to get started on Tori’s brother. He’s like 100 years old going on 13. Can we say “issues”!!!

Could I have liked this book more if I had read the first book? Maybe, but I would still have had issues with it reading more like a mystery than romance, Tori’s family relationship dynamic and that its slow at the beginning and middle and then rushed at the end.